Are Pet Mice Nocturnal?

Owning pets is always a big responsibility. All of a sudden you are responsible for looking after something other than yourself. With this comes a commitment, changes to your own lifestyle, and the need to adapt a little.

You should always research your new pets needs and behaviours before taking them in. Whether we are talking about a cat, bird, or a mouse, there may, and probably will be things you didn’t know. Like, are pet mice nocturnal, what are the pros and cons, what do they eat, and how long do they live?

Are Pet Mice Nocturnal?

In a word, yes. This means that they are awake more at night than they are during the day. This is certainly the case with the domestic fancy mice that we keep as pets. Even more so with wild mice that run free outside.

This might help explain why mice come in to your house and take food, leave droppings etc, and you feel like you never see them. They are doing this while you are asleep, not intentionally, but nether the less making it more difficult for you to catch them.

Pet mice can change their cycles however. If they become very use to you feeding and interacting with them at certain times in the day, they will adjust and be awake at those times. But this will more than likely be a brief overlap, they will rarely completely change their waking routine.

Dealing With Night-time Noise

So you probably figured out, that if mice are awake during the night they will probably be making noise. If you are a heavy sleeper good for you, if you’re not then you are going to have some problems.

The obvious solution is to not have any of the mice near you where you sleep. But if you live in a very small apartment, you may have to put with with chewing noises, the sound of their exercise wheel, fighting and much more.

Bright Lights Can Be a Problem

Nocturnal animals are not fond of bright lights. So you need to respect that they do not want lights suddenly turned on, it can damage their eyes. Think about using a dimmer switch to gently bring lights on, or maybe duller bulbs.

Most Active Times

Mice are most active from around 30 minutes post-sunset, through to 30 minutes pre-sunset. This is why as mentioned earlier that you will not often cross paths with the wild mice running around in your home.

You will instead have to leave traps to catch them when you are sleeping. Or stay up yourself, but this can prove to be very frustrating if you still do not see them.

Consider This before Owning Mice

This shouldn’t be a big deal breaker as I see it. But you should always consider everything before bring pets in to your life, in case there is some conflict. Are pet mice nocturnal? Yes they are, Does this have to be a problem? No, not really.

Mice are common as pets because they offer a lot of fun and joy to play with, and look after. So don’t let their nocturnal behaviour put you off, you’ll have plenty of time to socialize and play with them.

About The Author

I have kept pet mice for a number of years and always had a fascination with these interesting, fun little creatures.
I'm always looking for new and interesting mice related information and will always help other mice owners where possible.

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